I take a tube or two, tyre plugs and pump.

For a permanent repair at home I keep a needle and thread, cut-to-size rubber strips, sandpaper and vulcanizing solution. That works for almost any repairable damage.

Remember to inspect tyre regularly and remove any thorns. Otherwise putting the spare tube in trailside becomes a real pain.

It also reads like a stealth ad:

No, they were staring at the bike; a stylish, unusual-looking model with chunky tyres that somewhat resembles a classic motorcycle. I was stopped a total of six times during my seven-mile ride by passers-by enquiring as to the brand, each time panicking that I was being approached instead for committing a traffic crime (which I more than likely was). This is possibly what it feels like to own a rare vintage car.

Best to ignore I think.

NB – Look up iamadamdev on GitHub for a ‘handy’ firefox/chrome extension 😉

I’ve had a Vitus Nucleus for a year and have had nothing to complain about for £500. Install a dropper and you are sorted. Quite often out of stock though.

The multi-tool is really good, just mind that you don’t lose the chain hook like I did. It comes off quite easy if you’re not careful. I went with Ninja T Mountain which has been really great.

Maybe the centrifugal and rotational forces are keeping the whole plugged with fresh sealant but when it’s stationary the air pressure breaks the seal and most of the sealant has dropped to the bottom?

I had my first tubeless puncture on Tuesday, a gash to the sidewall so my plugs were useless and the spare tube came in handy for the first time. Admittedly I was only a 1 hour walk from home so I wasn’t stranded and it took just as long to painstakingly remove thorns, fit tube and ride home. But it has definitely served as a warning to always carry one in case I am further away (and to remove thorns at home more often). I don’t ride with a pack, nor do I use pockets, there is a place for everything on the bike.

Hmmm, hardly a definitive table.
I hate to say it but things might actually be a bit easier if there were some simple numbers applied.

Couldn’t disagree more.

So it seems long or multiple rides in a day seem to be fine in legal sense. There is still a moral argument whether you should be going on epic long rides or taking unnecessary risks but it’s not the police’s job to question these moralities.

Yes, the legislation can be abused and you can argue endlessly whether the law should be stricter at the expense of personal liberties and mental health etc. I think campaigns such as the “no car, no gnar, not far” are a great way of convincing people to give greater thought to how their take exercise without resorting to arbitrary daily exercise limits that would be impossible to police anyway.

The public shaming seems to be getting out of hand, sure some people are going to take liberties but you would have to be stupid to think putting up anti-cycling signage is an effective way of getting your message across. All it does is raise tensions and may have an opposite effect when it becomes “us vs them”.

Making the law stricter should be backed up by statistics and thought given to the enforce-ability. I would be interested to know if people going on longish rides, and potentially not meeting a single person, is statistically significant when it comes to the spread of coronavirus. And if you expect the police to monitor the length of a ride give some thought to how they will police it. This is how you get police asking to see your phone gps history and other unnecessarily intrusive measures.

Shaming is not the answer but reasoned discussion and persuasion is.

That said he should not be preventing people riding up a legal bridleway.

If he really needs convincing give him a copy of the Definitive Map/Statement.

If you believe he is obstructing cyclists routinely the correct thing to do would be to contact the highway authority to report this. If nobody reports it then he may continue blocking cyclists unlawfully.

So what about ‘smart’ lights then? What do they do?

Auto turn on/off with either motion or daylight sensors. Sometimes a brake light function.

Speaking of, I’ve been using this with no complaints: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xlite-100-Brake-Induction-Bicycle-Taillight-LED-Indicator-USB-Rechargeable-Sport/113892928663?hash=item1a848c2c97:g:qHsAAOSwEXhdgd3K

Deputy Chief Constable Sara Glen, said it was not illegal to drive somewhere for a walk.

Didn’t think so and it explains the complete vagueness of the Government’s statements. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily responsible to travel to your favourite riding hotspot and hopefully people don’t the piss so that further liberties are not taken away.

I’ve been using these cheap and cheerful straps:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tube-Strap-Original/dp/B0746LNW8M

They don’t look the most robust but I’ve not lost anything so no complaints. I run a Halfords triangle frame bag as well and the friction wearing is a lot worse with that than with the straps.

The legislation was published yesterday.

Regular people are not going to be reading the legislation in full so the published guidance needs to reflect that and not use vague language. They need to specifically state that vehicular travel for exercise purposes is not essential and therefore contrary to the legislation. Otherwise the arguments will continue.

Well it’s been clarified now,
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52062209

Still vague. To play devil’s advocate driving for a walk could still be considered ‘local’ and it says ‘where possible’ which, to me, is completely meaningless. Is this guidance anything other than that, guidance? It needs to be enshrined in law as every police service will have different a interpretation.

A point to make against driving is that if the police are having to set up checkpoints, people driving for exercise purposes are an unnecessary burden on their time. Yes, you could potentially be doing the UK a favour by choosing to exercise in a more remote location, but how are the police able to verify that for every car they stop? For efficient checkpoints they will want as few vehicles as possible and easily verifiable reasons for traveling.

But then it’ll be different depending where you live

This is key, as is what time you chose to ride. There is little point in setting arbitrary hourly limits when this cannot possibly be applied to everyone equally. One person riding gently for an hour may encounter vastly more people than another on a 4-5 hour ride. There is a reason why the official advice has been incredibly vague.

Don’t take the piss, stick to solo/family rides, maintain physical distancing and you are sorted in my eyes. I can’t imagine that the police are going to spend much time hunting down solo recreational cyclists (whether they are on a long or short ride) and they certainly aren’t going to be patrolling rural bridleways.

The main thing I would be concerned about is encountering people that don’t take the 2m distancing as seriously as I do. I am also wary of higher-than-average traffic due to gyms/pools/whatnot being closed. But I can still easily plan a 4 hour loop at a place and time when I know there is very little chance of encountering anybody.

I’m about to pull the trigger on this Zefal kit. There aren’t any reviews as it’s just been released but could be worth a punt if, like me, you don’t like pockets full of stuff that you hardly ever need.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zefal-Unisexs-Tubeless-Repair-Universal/dp/B07Z8F3FFJ

I have the 2019 version and I have no issues fitting a dropper. I could measure it to give you an indication but the frame may be slightly different for 2020 (medium frame).

The stock seatpost is oversized which explains the comment you read. If I hadn’t installed the dropper I would have had to cut the seatpost down significantly to fit. My 170mm OneUp almost fully inserts (save about 2cm).

It’s unlikely that you will have an issue.

Slightly off topic but I reported a road rage incident where two cars were brake checking and trying to shove each other off the M40 at speed. It was the worst thing I have ever encountered in my driving life. I submitted dash cam evidence which clearly showed the number plates.

TVP basically said that because that both drivers were not from the Thames Valley area they would only get a letter telling them off. While taking no action didn’t come as a surprise, I though their reasoning was odd. Does that mean any driver committing offenses outside their home region gets off lighter?

I’m in too minds about bothering to submit dash cam footage again whether on bike or in car. I suppose there’s a risk that I miss an appeal for footage if a serious incident did occur.

My experiences have been similar. Kennet and Avon is okay, splashy but perfectly rideable until you get to Kintbury/Hunferford (which is off the NCN route anyway). The path can completely flood on a part near Reading after a storm.

Hampshire Downs is very muddy and is hike-a-bike in places. I still go but it can become a drag. Watership Down and Ladle Hill are rideable (slowly).

Greenham common is quite ridable including some of the singletrack around the perimeter. Behind the bunker, where the best singletrack is, is boggy and I generally avoid unless there’s a spell of dry weather.

I assume Berkshire Downs is very boggy. I might try Snelsmore Common or the Hermitage area to see if anything that way is doable.

I’m gutted to hear about Head Down, even having only been there once. Thank you Scott and others for trying your best to look out for us.

My local one is 6 miles away but it’s so small I would happily extend that to 10 miles if it was any decent.

Worth noting that the closer it is, the more often I would feel inclined to go.

I don’t see how they can prevent you from reselling a product but they can certainly refuse to sell to you if they believe you are operating a business. Although I would question their motives for doing so.

It looks the same as the Wiggle own brand one: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-airblast-tubeless-tyre-track-pump-1/ with some minor cosmetic changes.

The Lifeline one is okay, I can’t really fault it for the price but it does feel cheap and plasticy. I have no problems using it as my only track pump. As far as the compressed air tank goes, I’ve seated tubeless tyres with it but it requires multiple “shots”. Although it’s 240psi, the volume of air in the tank is pretty small.

I would not get it for the purpose of seating really tricky tyres (or non-tubeless rated ones).

Agreed and signed.
I don’t understand why locals would be against giving there local youngsters somewhere to occupier themselves! Crazy “I don’t want change locals” I’d imagine.

What’s the bet that they also moan about kids doing wheelies down the local high street because they have nothing better to do.